Carney touts progress in Europe, says joint tariff retaliation not a focus

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Prime Minister Mark Carney emerged from meetings on Monday with the leaders of France and Britain saying their talks on security and trade were constructive, but that there had never been a plan to co-ordinate a joint response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s rollout of more tariffs on April 2.

Canada is strong, he said, and can stand up for itself.

“We don’t look for that form of co-ordinated retaliation. That’s not helpful necessarily for those countries, that’s not helpful to the overall process,” Mr. Carney told reporters.

He also said for the first time that Canada is limited in how far it can go in matching U.S. tariffs dollar-for-dollar.

“There is a limit, given the relative size of our economy, the extent to which we should match U.S. tariffs,” he said, a shift from his emphasis during the Liberal leadership campaign on the need for such retaliation. But he did not answer questions on what the limit is.

Mr. Carney had also pledged to work on bolstering Canada’s economy and fostering new trade ties to limit damage from the U.S. trade war. His trip to Paris and London, on his fourth day as Prime Minister, was billed as a step in fulfilling that promise.

Mr. Carney said Monday that the point of his separate meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron was to talk security and build relationships. He added that the talks included discussion on support for Ukraine and diversifying Canada’s military supply chains. He also agreed to a new security partnership with France that includes sharing intelligence.

Canada’s tariff war with the U.S. began on March 4, when Mr. Trump imposed 25-per-cent tariffs across the board on most Canadian exports, and 10 per cent on energy products.

Canada imposed an initial round of countertariffs on $30-billion worth of U.S. products, and identified another tranche of $125-billion worth of U.S. goods it would target.

Mr. Trump then paused some of the U.S. tariffs until April 2. In the meantime, he imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, which led to a new round of Canadian countertariffs.

How much more Canada could do will depend on what the U.S. ultimately does on April 2, Mr. Carney said.

“We are not going to take an action that we think is not ultimately going to influence the United States, and certainly not one that is harmful to Canada, given the overall approach,” he said.

Mr. Carney also pushed back at the suggestion that in recent weeks neither Mr. Starmer nor Mr. Macron had spoken up forcefully enough in defence of Canada’s sovereignty, given their respective long-standing ties to Canada. That the country is built on French, British and Indigenous history was a theme of Mr. Carney’s speech after he was sworn in as Prime Minister. The third planned stop on his tour this week is in Iqaluit, to complete the theme.

“We don’t need another country to validate our sovereignty,” he said.

In their respective remarks alongside Mr. Carney, both Mr. Starmer and Mr. Macron did speak glowingly about Canada and highlighted its sovereignty.

“The relationship between our two countries has always been strong. Two sovereign allies that have so much in common. A shared history, shared values. A shared King,” Mr. Starmer said.

“We are stronger together,” said Mr. Macron, speaking in French, adding that together both countries can ensure respect for their interests and their sovereignty.

Mr. Macron did not directly speak about Mr. Trump in his remarks, but did make his own pitch for the importance of free trade.

“Trade that respects international rules is good for everyone’s prosperity,” he said.

“It is more effective than tariffs, which create inflation and damage production chains and the integration of our economies.”

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Ahead of his meeting Monday with Mr. Starmer, Mr. Carney was received at Buckingham Palace by King Charles, Canada’s head of state. The monarch congratulated Mr. Carney on his recent victory.

The Prime Minister pointed at his lapel pin.

“Bit of a disaster today, sir. My Order of Canada pin broke,” Mr. Carney said.

“Do you want mine?” the King asked.

In the wake of Mr. Trump’s musings that Canada should become the 51st state, there have been calls for the monarch to clearly speak out against that proposition.

The King has recently taken some symbolic moves, such as planting a maple tree, that have been understood by palace watchers as sending a symbol of solidarity with Canada.

Mr. Carney, who is Catholic, made a symbolic move of his own at the start of his trip, stopping at Notre-Dame cathedral, which was destroyed by fire in 2019 and reopened in 2024.

In a social-media post after his visit, he reflected on what he had taken away from the moment: “The history here at the Notre-Dame Cathedral reminds us that rebuilding for a stronger, better future is always possible.”

Mr. Carney’s next stop is Iqaluit, where he is expected to make an announcement with Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan, Defence Minister Bill Blair, and the Premier of Nunavut, P.J. Akeeagok.

Later this week he is expected to convene a meeting with the premiers on the subject of Canada-U.S. trade.

But an election call is imminent, and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre took a jab at Mr. Carney’s trip, saying trade with France and Britain hasn’t budged in years because Canada can’t export more natural gas and other products to them – something he has said his government would do, if elected.

With reports from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press